SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – A week before the Oregon Ducks landed in Phoenix, coach Chip Kelly asked his 16 team captains about setting a curfew for their time in Arizona.

It didn’t take the captains long to decide: No late nights. The Ducks, after all, had one purpose, to beat Auburn and win the BCS National Championship.

Make that No. 1 Auburn. It stands to reason that the fresher the Ducks are – and that’s been an undeniable ingredient in their recipe, outscoring teams 115-24 in the fourth quarter – the better their odds. Auburn, which has been on a slightly different schedule than Oregon, also has been tough late, outscoring opponents 249-117 after halftime.

Still, to the younger players, ending 10 days in Phoenix at 10 p.m. each day sounded a bit harsh.

“I’ll be honest with you, at first we were like, unh uh,’’ safety Eddie Pleasant said.

Auburn had no curfew for the first half of its trip, as is customary for bowl teams, and quarterback Cam Newton made no secret of his partaking in the nightlife. But the Ducks opted for seclusion. They were thinking not only of last year’s Rose Bowl defeat but also of Oklahoma’s loss here three years ago in the Fiesta Bowl.

“I heard when Boise State and Oklahoma were here a couple years ago, Boise State was in bed at 9:30 and they were focused; Oklahoma didn’t have a curfew and was taking Boise State very lightly,’’ running back/receiver Josh Huff said. “And in the game, it showed.

“The day he assigned the curfew, there was a lot of talk going around that we should be able to have fun and enjoy ourselves while we’re here in Arizona. Then I thought about it, and realized it was a good decision. It seems like the team that gets the most rest is better prepared to get the win.’’

The Ducks have broken curfew just once, to watch the NBA game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns. That was on Wednesday, five days before the title game. Other evenings were spent watching their favorite inspirational movies (“Secretariat’’ and “The Fighter’’) or playing video games, playing poolside at the secure and secluded team hotel or just hanging out.

Asked for the most fun part of the trip, defensive tackle Brandon Bair wasted no time in answering:

“Practice,’’ he said. “You might look at me like I’m crazy, but I’m 100 percent honest with that. When our guys come out and play as hard as they are at practice, we have a blast. Coaches tell us it’s over and we’re like, we just got started.

“That’s why we’re here, we love the game.’’

The Ducks have had a “fast, hard, finish’’ mantra all season, but the Tigers have been pretty good at that, too, without the slogan.

“We started off horrible against Alabama, losing 24-0, and all of a sudden we end up winning the game 28-27 because we know how to finish as a team,’’ Pugh said. “I think last year that was our problem … we lost because we didn’t finish, we didn’t know how to finish.

“We’re all about finishing, and that’s why we’re here now.’’

The Ducks have echoed Kelly’s words about eliminating the distractions of last year’s bowl trip. But it wasn’t like they were pulled in a hundred different directions. They went to Disney Land and to Lawry’s Restaurant, and that was about it.

“I think it was just the overall focus,’’ receiver Jeff Maehl said. “We have a lot of time to just relax in the hotel – just not being exposed to the public and being able to focus on our practice and preparation.

“Just really enjoying the whole situation that we’re in, just understanding that if we win on Monday night, that’s going to be a really fun night for us, too.’’

It’s been a really long time since the Ducks played in a game – 37 days will have elapsed when they finally take the field at University of Phoenix Stadium, more than a week longer than the layoff of a year ago. Jim Radcliffe, Oregon’s strength and conditioning coach, said although the team is striving for sameness, the extra time was different.

“It was different, but I like the difference,’’ Radcliffe said. “Normally for bowl games, we give them some time off, but they’ve got to meet us on Christmas or the day after Christmas somewhere else, and it can get kind of helter-skelter. This was much better.’’

Avoiding any choppiness might be too much to ask in a bowl game, especially on such a big stage. Even Newton could be excused if he throws his first opening-drive incompletion of the season (he’s 19 for 19 on first drives), but offensive lineman Carson York said he’s confident the Ducks are more prepared than a year ago.

“I think our belief is different this year,’’ York said. “The big difference is that I don’t think we understood where we were last year until we lost. I think we were content to be there. I think we just sort of thought the game would happen the way we wanted it to. This year we’re much more concerned with ensuring that the game happens the way we want it to.’’

And if ensuring that means early bedtimes and no nightlife, then so be it.

“After the game, you can stay up all night, you can stay up for two days if you want to,’’ Pleasant said. “We’re here to win the football game, and I’m pretty sure a loss here would hurt way more than the Rose Bowl.’’